Standard DVD upconversion: Blu-ray VS. Regular Up converting Player

[jasononyx]

I am a huge film fan, but have yet to jump on the Blu-Ray wagon, due to many of the films I like, have yet to be on the format.
My question, and no one ever seems to be able to answer it, Is the up-conversion from a Blu-Ray Player better than the Up Conversion from a Standard Up converting DVD Player

[welwynnick]

In general, no.

For some reason most BD players are relatively poor DVD players, and this is well documented with standard video decoding and processing tests, and with user and pro reviews. There are a few shining exceptions, usually those with HQV, VRS, VXP or QDeo video processing, but most are pretty poor, especially with PAL material.

I would hold onto the DVD player if there's room on the rack.

Nick

[koontz1973]

When I saw this, i thought to myself that there has to be a difference, so I checked it out on my PS3, stand alone and DVD player. My PS3 and DVD player look identical. Stand alone BD player seems to handle it better, less blurring etc.

As for the picture, no difference. But I do only have a 42inch TV. Might be different on larger or smaller TV's.

[mreilly611]

Originally Posted by jasononyx

I am a huge film fan, but have yet to jump on the Blu-Ray wagon, due to many of the films I like, have yet to be on the format.
My question, and no one ever seems to be able to answer it, Is the up-conversion from a Blu-Ray Player better than the Up Conversion from a Standard Up converting DVD Player

That is something that you would need to test on your own. You can buy a Blu-Ray Player from Best Buy, Sears or Walmart and return it if not happy with it for any reason witin 30 days. It has a lot to do with your set-up and your TV or projector and how you have them connected. On one TV a upconverted picture can look great and on another TV the picture would look just Ok. I have the Onkyo 875 Receiver that up converts any signal to 1080P. Some DVD's look great and some look like garbage. Underworld looks amazing up converted on my Sony S350 Blu-Ray Palyer and also looks amazing having it up converted through my Onkyo Receiver. Is there a difference between the both. Very Little (with a slight edge to the Blu-Ray Player). But the Blu-Ray version of Underworld you notice a big difference in picture quality over the upconverted Dvd. And if you have a 5.1 sound sytem hooked up the Blu-Ray sound blows away the DVD sound by a very large margin. But the main reason to get a Blu-Ray player is for its 1080P picture and upgraded sound quality and not its upconverting. You can only due so much with a 480i picture.

[gonk]

Originally Posted by jasononyx

I am a huge film fan, but have yet to jump on the Blu-Ray wagon, due to many of the films I like, have yet to be on the format.
My question, and no one ever seems to be able to answer it, Is the up-conversion from a Blu-Ray Player better than the Up Conversion from a Standard Up converting DVD Player

That depends on the players in question - there are some pretty poor upscaling DVD players out there. In general, however, Blu-ray players have often not included particularly good DVD performance. Layer changes are often slow and video performance (decoding, deinterlacing, and scaling) have been merely average in many cases.

There are some exceptions, however. Samsung has built a couple of players that used the Reon chip for video processing, and their DVD performance was pretty darn good. Samsung's firmware support and hardware reliability have been spotty, so you will find folks who are very satisfied with them and folks who can't stand them. OPPO Digital's new BDP-83 (which is shipping to folks who signed up to the "interest list" over the last six months or so, and should go on sale on their site in the next few weeks) incorporates an Anchor Bay ABT2010 video processing chip and has DVD performance that is the equal or better of their 983H DVD player (which remains one of the best standard DVD players around). I beta-tested the BDP-83, and have a review of it here (as well as a review for the original 983H DVD player). I'd also say that, in general, manufacturers are doing a better job with DVD performance on Blu-ray players with each generation of players that comes out.

[Blacklac]

Generally, a Blu-ray player that has above average upconverting will cost some nice cash. Your going to want player with Reon/Realta, ABT, or QDEO chips. Pioneer uses their own chip which is in the same league, however their new high-end player uses QDEO.

I have switched to my PC and it does a noticeably better job than my Reon and ABT equipped players. Getting into PC for BD/DVD, be prepared to do some research. They can be the gateway to both heaven and hell!